1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a circular connector mountable to a bulkhead or panel and comprising sealing means.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
It is common to find circular electrical connectors for use in the automobile industry whereby the connector is mounted to a panel of the body work and electrically connects cables, for example in the engine compartment to cables in the passenger compartment. In order to prevent dust and liquid ingress into the electrical connector and into the passenger compartment, the circular bulkhead connectors commonly comprise sealing means such as a flexible rubber boot that is mounted around the connector and cables on the engine compartment side. Examples of such bulkhead connectors are shown in German patent application P 4306806.5 and Great Britain patent application 9204894.1. In order to facilitate assembly, one of the connector parts is usually mountable to the bulkhead and the other connector part can be mated therewith at an ulterior stage in the assembly procedure. One of the preferred connection mechanisms for coupling circular connectors is a bayonet type of mechanism, whereby one connector part is rotated relative to the other as the mating terminals are pushed together. For assembly reasons, the panel mounted connector part is usually the part found on the passenger compartment side, which doesn't require any sealing means. The other connector part comprising the rubber boot and sealing means is then connected thereto.
One of the problems associated with the above, is that during assembly of the mating connector parts, the rubber boot is often pulled off as it has to be held during rotation of the connector. As the latter happens on the assembly line of the automobile, it is time consuming and therefore costly to refit the rubber boot in its correct position. Further, a disadvantage of the above connectors is that the male terminals belonging to the engine compartment connector part protrude from a mating face thereof, unprotected and thus prone to damage. Yet another disadvantage of the above connectors, is that the passenger compartment connector part is mounted to a panel with resilient latches, whereby the connector part is time consuming and sometimes very difficult to remove from the panel, and the latches are prone to damage by the sharp edges of the panel hole.
It would therefore be desirable to produce a circular bulkhead connector that has securely mounted sealing means, provides protection for the terminals and is easily mountable and dismountable from a panel. As the terminals passing through a panel of an automobile often stem from many differently located devices, and the cost of modifying or adding many holes to the panel is high, it is also desirable to provide a connector that can accommodate different terminal modules for electrical, optical, or pneumatic connection all within the same connector body. The latter would mean that later improvements or modifications to the automobile do not require changing the panel stamping and forming dies but only the connector. Additionally, the connections could be made through a panel by only one connector comprising a variety of terminal modules therein instead of individually connecting and sealing the individual terminal modules across the panel, which simplifies and quickens the assembly procedure thereof.